To augment the learning experience, multiple workshops in various industry-relevant topics are conducted, says Principal

In an exclusive interaction with Shiksha.com, Principal Dr B Sowmya at Alpha College of Engineering talks in detail about various certification courses offered at the institute. The idea is to help students become industry-ready and is implemented in joint efforts with Career Development Cell and Entrepreneurship Development Cell. These courses include SWISS-MEM Certification course and the Business English Certification course. The institute follows an applied learning approach and believes that learning by doing leaves an ever-lasting impact on the student’s mind. Dr Sowmya is PhD degree holder from Sathyabama University in Satellite image interpretation and she has over 25 years of rich academic experience.

Read the excerpt of the conversation below:

Q: What are the three things that your college is doing that will enable it to differentiate itself from competition?

A: The Alpha College of Engineering differentiates itself with many unique initiatives. The three distinct programmes that provide an international dimension and enhance employability skills are

• SWISSMEM Certification Courses

Alpha College of Engineering takes pride in positioning its students in the international arena by offering International SWISSMEM Certification Courses to all its students. SWISSMEM is the leading association for SMEs and large companies in Switzerland’s Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Industries (MEM industries) and related technology-oriented sectors. It offers the highest SWISS know-how with modern SWISS teaching methodologies.

• Entrepreneurship Development Cell

Entrepreneurship Development Cell is an effective unit of Alpha College of Engineering. It inculcates the fervor and spirit among the students to become entrepreneurs. It provides the student members with Orientation Sessions and Practical learning opportunities with Entrepreneurship Development institutes such as National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), CED (Centre for Entrepreneurship Development) – Anna University and ENACTUS. It encourages students to explore new ideas and innovations to build their own start-ups and business incubators.

• Faculty Advisor Programme (FAP)

Faculty Advisor Programme (FAP) is an art of counseling the student in improving their academic excellence and thus empowering the students to face society. It enables the students to refresh on what they have learned and paves the way to update their technical knowledge. The students are encouraged to explore new ideas, concepts and projects of their choice.

Q: What are the top three initiatives undertaken by you that are helping your students become more industry ready?

A: The three unique initiatives undertaken to empower students to become more industry-ready are,

1. Centre of Excellence: Students are offered domain-specific courses from our Centre of Excellence.

• Cisco Networking Academy: Students can take up CCNA certification as per CISCO international curriculum
• DELL EMC Centre of Academic Excellence: Students can take up Big data analytics, R programming, Analytics projects, Advanced DATA analysis.
• ORACLE Academy: Students can take up Oracle database training, Java programming, Cloud services
• Autodesk Academy: Students can take up Autodesk inventor certification.

All these certification courses are offered free of cost

2. Career Development Cell (CDC)

Career Development Cell (CDC) is one of the active and significant cells of the college.  It creates awareness among the students about the opportunities available after graduation.  It offers aptitude training, soft skills training and interpersonal skills training. Aptitude training comprises of training in analytical reasoning, logical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.

3. Business English Certification (BEC) training

Business English Certification(BEC) training is offered to all students of the college. This is a certification course from Cambridge University, the UK. The qualification is accepted by universities, business schools and multinational corporations, both in India and abroad.

Q: What are the key attributes that a student should have in order to qualify for the institution and perform well in the curriculum?

A: Students with Mathematics and Science subjects in their Class 12 are eligible for Engineering and Technology courses. The college offers many scholarships for meritorious students.

To perform well in the curriculum, students need to

• Attend all the classes and tests
• Be Attentive
• Actively participate in classes
• Enhance their communication skills
• Understand the concepts
• Learn Time Management
• Do assignments on time
• Avoid distractions
• Not to lose sight of their goals

As hard work never fails to pay, persistence and perseverance will earn them the top grades.

Q: Which programme/s would you say is/are your best? What is it that helps your institution differentiate itself for this programme?

A: Not just one, but there are multiple programmes that I would say we specialise in and we follow a unique methodology to deliver the content, They are:

Biomedical Engineering (BME)

The department of BME is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to Medicine and Biology. Biomedical Engineering is a growing career field as health and technology are coming together to modernise the field of medicine. BME department regularly conducts workshops, technical symposiums and International Conferences to equip students with current technological developments in the core domain. In Biomedical Engineering, students are trained on industry-ready SWISSMEM’S Machine Learning course along with the important subjects such as Digital Signal Processing, Digital Electronics, Microprocessors, Biomedical Instrumentation, Biomaterials, Biomechanics, Medical Imaging, Rehabilitation Engineering, Pathology and Microbiology, Anatomy and Human Physiology, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Equipment. Further, our students are given hands-on training of Vital Signs, Cardiac assist devises and Respiratory devices by Ray one technologies. Many of our students have also secured University ranks consistently. Our students have been provided with Overseas IHP (International Honors Program) – Internships and also have opportunities for training at premier institutes such as  SCTIMST (Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Science and Technology, Trivandrum). 

Computer Science and Engineering(CSE) & Information Technology (IT)

CSE and IT departments of the college have various unique features which distinguish us from many other institutions. We have teamed up with worldwide leading companies such CISCO Systems, Inc., Dell and Oracle to provide high-quality education with International Standard Certifications such as CISCO Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Dell EMC Big Data Analytics Certification and Oracle java Certification. We provide these certification courses free of cost. These courses are seamlessly embedded into Anna University Academic curriculum without affecting the curriculum in any way.

Mechanical Engineering

The Mechanical department is the most diverse and versatile of all engineering disciplines. Mechanical department of our college has well equipped state-of-the-art laboratories to train beyond academics. Our department is unique in conducting workshops and training on rapidly evolving technologies such as FUSION 360, Robotics, Mechatronics and Autocad, Pro-E and CATIA. We also train students, the application-oriented CNC programming apart from the syllabus. Fusion 360 CAD/CAM software connects the entire product design and development process in a single tool. SWISSMEM training on  Mechatronics and Machine learning is given to the students. We have tied up with Design Academy AUTODESK (authorised academic partner). This field has evergreen demand and scope in job placement as well as research work. The alumni have been placed in both core and noncore companies like Techwizard, Infosys, Syntel, Amazon, HCL, Symantec, L&T Infotech, IBM, Cognizant, HP, Wipro, CSS CORP, Mindtree, Q-Spiders, Deliqual components, Hexaware, Nextgen Solutions, Orion water treatment Pvt Ltd, Admatic Solutions and RIKUN Manufacturing systems.

Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE)

The Department of ECE has profound attributes which make it a forerunner in providing the pioneer knowledge to students. MOUs have been signed with prestigious organisations such as Vi Microsystem Private Limited, who have been providing numerous opportunities to do internships and several projects for the students. QMAX Systems, TVS Delphi, Flex, CUMI are few of the other companies in which our students have gained industrial experience by doing their internship. Our students are further trained in various simulation software such as MATLAB, LABVIEW, Verilog, PSpice and Aurdino.

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

The Department of Management Studies at Alpha College of Engineering offers two-year full-time MBA Degree with specialisation in – Finance, Marketing, Human Relations, Systems and Operations. To augment their learning experience, multiple Workshops in various industry-relevant topics such as Excel, R-Language, R- Studio, are conducted.  Students undertake industry-based and net-based assignments that enhance their analytical as well as problem-solving skills. We provide 100 per cent project and placements assistance to students.

Q: What are you doing to improve/drive better campus placements for your current students and alumni? What kind of jobs routinely come to campus? What would you say are the key recruitment trends for your college (observed over the past five years)?

A: Following are some of the key points to ensure better placements for our students and alumni:

• We have a dedicated placement wing headed by Director (Industry Collaboration and Placement)
• The placements team actively assists in identifying training requirements to the students and advises the management on the latest trends
• Students undertake Business English Certification training(BEC) and domain-specific courses from our Centre of excellence. Students are offered extensive training from external and internal sources in aptitude, attitude, interpersonal, oratory and group discussion in order to develop their ability to face interviews during corporate recruitments
• The students are presented with various job opportunities and internship opportunities during their final year so that they will have a guaranteed placement in hand
• We invite HR personnel from many organisations and facilitate to conduct on-campus drives for our final year students
• Routinely we ensure that our students are placed in core areas of engineering and management
• We have been achieving 100 per cent placement for the past four years. Despite varying industrial and market trends most of our students are getting more than two opportunities to choose from in campus drives.